Laptop Buyer’s Guide – Processor

I was really confused when I bought my laptop first time because I have to spend 50,000 rupees ( 1200$ ) so I was afraid what configuration to buy and from which company !!

I searched for almost 20 days on these topics only and then minimum price v/s quality.

Here are features which we should look before buying any laptop

Processor

The laptop processor is typically a lower-powered processor than those found in similar desktop machines, although some laptop makers have used desktop processors in their laptops to get a performance
edge. Processors designed for mobile computing generally consume less power, and thus run cooler than desktop processors. This is important because you want your battery to last a long time and you also don’t want to burn a hole through your lap. Desktop PCs typically have massive heat-sinks and fans to cool them down, but it’s hard to fit that stuff into a tiny laptop, and fans drain laptop batteries quickly.

Budget Laptops

Budget laptops are those developed to provide a functional portable computer at low price point. They use a wide range of processors because often they are based upon older processors that use to be found in higher end laptops or the newer low cost processors. All of the processors listed here should be able to do all the basic computing tasks including web browsing, email, word processing and presentation. They are also very capable at being used for DVD playback as well. About the only thing that value system processors will not be able to do well is gaming and high-end graphics applications. Here are some of the processors to look for in this range:

AMD Athlon II N320 and Higher

AMD Athlon II P320 and Higher

AMD E-350 and Higher

AMD Phenom II N830 and Higher

AMD Phenom II P820 and Higher

AMD Turion II N530 and Higher

AMD Turion II P520 and Higher

Intel Core i3-330M and Higher

Intel Pentium Dual-Core P6000 and Higher

Intel Pentium Dual-Core T4500 and Higher

Ultraportables

Ultraportables are systems that are designed to be as light and compact as possible yet powerful enough for most common business applications such as e-mail, word processing and presentation software. These systems are geared towards those people who travel a lot (often called road warriors) who want a system that is not very cumbersome. They are willing to sacrifice computing power and peripherals for portability. There are few choices in this category, but it makes comparison very easy. Below are the processors found in ultraportables:

AMD Athlon II Neo K125 and Higher

AMD Athlon II Neo K325 and Higher

AMD E-350 and Higher

AMD Turion II Neo K625 and Higher

AMD V105

Intel Core i3-2310M and Higher

Intel Core i3-330UM and Higher

Intel Core i3-430UM and Higher

Intel Core i5-2410M and Higher

Intel Core i5-520UM and Higher

Intel Core i7-2617M and Higher

Intel Core i7-620LM and Higher

Intel Core i7-620UM and Higher

Intel Pentium Dual-Core SU4100 and Higher

Intel Pentium Dual-Core SU5400 and Higher

Netbooks

Netbooks are a fairly new classification of systems. They tend to be a bit smaller than ultraportables and a lot cheaper. The reason for this is that they have limited functionality through the removal of features. The processors generally use very little power but also tend to have limited performance. They are best suited as mobile interenet systems than as full blown laptop. Below are common processors found in the netbook segment:

AMD Athlon II Neo K125 and Higher

AMD Athlon II Neo K325 and Higher

AMD C-30 and Higher

AMD E-240 and Higher

AMD Turion II Neo K625 and Higher

AMD V105

Intel Atom D525 and Higher

Intel Atom N270 and Higher

Intel Atom N450 and Higher

Intel Atom N550 and Higher

Intel Atom Z550 and Higher

Thin and Light

A thin and light laptop is one that is able to perform pretty much any computing task at least on some level. These systems can vary widely in terms of their price and performance. They tend to perform better than the counterparts in the value category or ultraportables but they are smaller and more portable than the large media centric desktop replacements. Here are some of the processors that can be found in this category of laptops:

AMD Phenom II N830 and Higher

AMD Phenom II P820 and Higher

AMD Turion II N530 and Higher

AMD Turion II P520 and Higher

Intel Core i3-2310M and Higher

Intel Core i3-330M and Higher

Intel Core i5-2410M and Higher

Intel Core i5-430M and Higher

Intel Core i5-520M and Higher

Intel Core i7-2620M and Higher

Intel Core i7-720QM and Higher

Desktop Replacements

Desktop replacement systems are designed to be a complete system that has the equivalent processing power and capability to a desktop system but in a mobile package. They tend to be larger and bulkier to fit all the components to allow the system perform at almost the same level as a desktop in all aspects of computing. In general a desktop replacement will perform exceptionally well and will even be able to run 3D games. Mobile gaming is getting close to desktop performance, but the cost is much greater and still not the same as the top end desktop graphics. Here are some of the processors that can be found in this category of machine: